4 November 2017 | Rashedul Hasan | bdnews24.com
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Bangladesh is going to build a 3,600-megawatt power plant at Payra in Patuakhali, the largest in the country and first to be run by imported liquefied natural gas or LNG.
Sate-owned North-West Power Generation Company Limited and Germany-based Siemens will sign a deal to set up the plant on Sunday, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told bdnews24.com on Saturday.
"We hope the project will be implemented very fast," he said and added the work was expected to start by June 2018.
The estimated cost of the project is $2.5 billion, 80 percent of which is expected to come as the loan, he also said.
He said Siemens would also construct another 3500MW power plant at Maheshkhali in Cox's Bazar.
The Power Development Board or PDB would sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the firm for the Maheshkhali plant soon, he said.
At Payra, North-West Power Generation is already constructing a 1320MW coal-fired power plant with China's help, and 26 percent work of the project is complete.
For the new LNG-run plant, the government has allotted a 100-acre piece of land next to the coal-based plant, according to the company's Managing Director AM Khorshedul Alam.
He said the new plant would comprise six units with 600MW capacity each.
The North-West managing director said two units would become operational by June 2020, two more in December the same year and the remaining two in the following year.
Khorshedul said an LNG terminal would also be set up at Payra to supply the imported gas to the plant.
The Awami League-led coalition government has initiated large infrastructure projects at Payra, including a port and economic zone for the development of the country's southern districts, with an aim to make Bangladesh a middle-income country by 2021 and developed one by 2041.
The country's capacity to generate electricity is 15,821MW in total. The government has targeted to raise the amount to 24,000MW by 2021 and 40,000MW by 2030.
Since 2009, a total of 87 power plants with a combined capacity to generate 9,254MW have been set up.
Now the government is eyeing larger power plants. The work to build a nuclear power plant at Rooppur in Pabna is under way.
Besides this, some more coal-run power plants at Maheshkhali, in Bagerhat and some other gas-run power plants are being set up.